Most two wheeled vehicles such as motorcycles, mopeds, bicycles and the like are supported during parking by a kickstand which is moveable between a raised travel position and a downwardly extending support position. Many such kickstands are formed of simple circular cross section rods or bars having a narrow base or end which contacts the ground or other parking surface, but variations in such kickstands do exist and include units having small platforms which permanently mount to the base of the kickstand and rest on the parking surface during parking.
Under ideal conditions even a narrow rod type kickstand will adequately support the parked vehicle, as when the kickstand is supported on a solid concrete parking surface. However, when the parking surface is formed of asphalt, sod, sand or other soft or infirm material, the kickstand base frequently sinks into the parking surface, resulting in the eventual collapse or falling of the vehicle. Due to the increasing complexity and value of many modern motorcycles and bicycles, the falling of a vehicle onto a hard parking surface can easily cause damage and breakage to the vehicle components.
The described problem of kickstand sinkage into the parking surface and the resultant falling of the vehicle has been a concern of vehicle designers for a number of years. Generally efforts to solve the problem have been directed toward permanently attaching a small platform to the kickstand base. Examples of such platforms are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,712,640 and 3,970,330. While the platforms shown in these patents can be helpful if properly attached and aligned, maintaining proper alignment requires constant attention from the operator. It has been found that in practice there is usually a small clearance distance between the rotating rear wheel of the vehicle and the kickstand when the stand is in raised, storage position. The presence of an attached platform on the kickstand as described in the above patents, can easily span the remaining clearance distance, and an unexpected contact between such a platform and the rotating rear wheel can produce jamming and sudden, dangerous vehicle failure. Not only can the platform shift relative to the kickstand to cause such contact, but more frequently the kickstand mounting shifts relative to the vehicle frame in response to the operator shoving the kickstand between raised and supporting positions. These clearance problems and their associated potential dangers have limited the opportunities where permanently attached platforms may be used on kickstands and accordingly have left the problem of kickstand sinkage unsolved. The present invention provides a workable, inexpensive and safe solution to this problem.